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Tim Hills "How to" - Intro

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01 SAILING

The contender responds to experience — either across a short period of time with intensive training; or across many years of effort, I have not seen a sailor (yet) get in the boat and immediately reach a high standard. In my experience there are no short cuts; and the greatest improvements are directly related to time on the water.

Most difficult of all to improve is boat feel — it’s the only topic I haven’t bothered to write about because it needs to be felt — and everybody has to find their own way. Steve Grimes describes the contender as very ‘groovy’; get in the groove; no matter the conditions or wind angle; and stay there. More than most boats, the contender rewards an instinctive feel for speed.

This summary documents the things I can readily communicate on paper; boat set up, boat handling techniques, mast set up and training routines. There is no ‘right way’ to race a contender - there are as many ways to sail the boats as people sailing them.

The Australian Association asked me to describe how I sail my boat to give the fleet a benchmark; analyze, interrogate, reject or improve upon these techniques as you see fit - but most importantly - enjoy sailing these incredibly rewarding boats that are enthusiastically sailed by truly supportive international sailing community.